#BlackLivesMatter VS #AllLivesMatter

I am not going to use this post to lecture about the impending war between black people and law enforcement. Quite frankly I am exhausted by all of the negativity, and cant bring myself to soil my posts with anymore sadness. With that said, I wanted to briefly explain the difference between two very controversial movements.

The Creation of a Movement

I created #BlackLivesMatter with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, two of my sisters, as a call to action for Black people after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder and the killer, George Zimmerman, was not held accountable for the crime he committed. It was a response to the anti-Black racism that permeates our society and also, unfortunately, our movements.

Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

We were humbled when cultural workers, artists, designers and techies offered their labor and love to expand #BlackLivesMatter beyond a social media hashtag. Opal, Patrisse, and I created the infrastructure for this movement project—moving the hashtag from social media to the streets. Our team grew through a very successful Black Lives Matter ride, led and designed by Patrisse Cullors and Darnell L. Moore, organized to support the movement that is growing in St. Louis, MO, after 18-year old Mike Brown was killed at the hands of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. We’ve hosted national conference calls focused on issues of critical importance to Black people working hard for the liberation of our people. We’ve connected people across the country working to end the various forms of injustice impacting our people. We’ve created space for the celebration and humanization of Black lives.

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Now that we have the literal breakdown of the birth of #BlackLivesMatter I think now is an appropriate time to incorporate #AllLivesMatter.

To start, all lives do matter. Every single life on this earth is precious. Life itself is a blessing in all forms. So yes, all lives do matter and they should be cherished. Both on a personal level, an authoritative level, and a governmental level. With that I wanted to introduce a statistic. Black men account for 6% of the population as a whole, so how is it physically possible for death rates to be as high as 40% for black men. Related to police killings of course.

This brings me to my next question. With such staggering statistics surrounding the lives of black men dying in the hands of police, how can we not see the injustices being targeted to this one group? And consequently, how do we stand and chant for #AllLives that matter if #BlackLives clearly don't matter to a lot of people?

Chanting #AllLivesMatter makes you stick out like a sore thumb on the forefront of bigotry. The focus at this very moment is the incessant violence and forcefulness being presented by the authorities. The conversation is on #BlackLives not because we want the attention, but because we are being targeted and would like our cries to be heard.

All Lives do matter, but all lives are not in danger on a day to day basis.